"We long for rain especially when we've gone without," observes author Cynthia Barnett in this richly detailed exploration of precipitation. Rain has always been an important aspect of life on Earth, from the downpours of 4 billion years ago, which filled the planet's oceans, to the erratic weather wrought by climate change. In anecdotal style, Barnett combines science, history, and travel writing to cover a variety of topics, including the shape of raindrops, the cultural significance of water, and human efforts to predict and even alter rainfall patterns. A must-read for days when it's raining cats and dogs (United States), old women and walking sticks (Wales), or men (The Weather Girls).

In this "highly literate, beautifully written natural history" of the common cuckoo (Library Journal), British ornithologist Nick Davies examines the biology, behavior, and cultural significance of Cuculus canorus. A brood parasite that lays its eggs in other birds' nests, the cuckoo is also an active participant in an "evolutionary arms race," in which cuckoos devise clever strategies for tricking other species into raising their young while their targets (including reed warblers, wagtails, meadow pipits, and dunnocks) develop ever-more sophisticated defenses against the invaders.

An estimated 352,000 species of plant reproduce by seed, prompting conservation biologist Thor Hanson to call seeds the most important evolutionary development in the entire history of plants. And they're equally important to humans, supplying us with "food and fuels, intoxicants and poisons, oils, dyes, fibers and spices." If you enjoyed Michael Pollan's The Botany of Desire, check out The Triumph of Seeds, a similarly engaging, accessible science book about the co-evolution of plants and humans.

Millions of people visit xkcd.com each week to read Randall Munroe’s iconic webcomic. His stick-figure drawings about science, technology, language, and love have an enormous, dedicated following, as do his deeply researched answers to his fans’ strangest questions.The queries he receives range from merely odd to downright diabolical: What if I took a swim in a spent-nuclear-fuel pool? Could you build a jetpack using downward-firing machine guns? What if a Richter 15 earthquake hit New York City? Are fire tornadoes possible? His responses are masterpieces of clarity and wit, gleefully and accurately explaining everything from the relativistic effects of a baseball pitched at near the speed of light to the many horrible ways you could die while building a periodic table out of all the actual elements. What If? is an informative feast for xkcd fans and anyone who loves to ponder the hypothetical. (Houghton)

Canadian. The Arctic is ruled by ice. For Inuit, it is a highway, a hunting ground, and the platform on which life is lived. While the international community argues about sovereignty, security, and resource development at the top of the world, the Inuit remind us that they are the original inhabitants of this magnificent place - and that it is undergoing a dangerous transformation. The Arctic ice is melting at an alarming rate and Inuit have become the direct witnesses and messengers of climate change. Through an examination of Inuit history and culture, alongside the experiences of newcomers to the Arctic seeking land, wealth, adventure, and power, Our Ice Is Vanishing describes the legacies of exploration, intervention, and resilience. Combining scientific and legal information with political and individual perspectives, Shelley Wright follows the history of the Canadian presence in the Arctic and shares her own journey in recollections and photographs, presenting the far North as few people have seen it. Climate change is redrawing the boundaries of what Inuit and non-Inuit have learned to expect from our world. Our Ice Is Vanishing demonstrates that we must engage with the knowledge of the Inuit in order to understand and negotiate issues of climate change and sovereignty claims in the region. (McGill University Press)

As these 52 concise, yet informative, biographical profiles demonstrate, women have always changed the world through science -- from the invention of the aquarium (Jeanne Villepreux-Power) to the development of protein crystallography (Dorothy Crowfoot Hodgkin) to the discovery of the Earth's inner core (Inge Lehmann). Recounting their (often overlooked) achievements in a wide variety of disciplines -- including astronomy, biology, chemistry, computer science, genetics, mathematics, medicine, and physics -- Headstrong also describes how each woman overcame significant obstacles to pursue her passion for knowledge.

Dr. William Bengston presents astonishing evidence that challenges us to totally rethink what we believe about our ability to heal. Drawing on his scientific research, incredible results, and mind-bending questions, Bengston invites us to follow him along his 35-year investigation into the mystery of hands-on healing and to discover a technique that may activate your healing abilities. Part memoir and part instruction, this provocative book explores Bengston's paradigm-shifting experimental results and why they seem so difficult for some medical practitioners to accept. (Soundstrue)

Welcome to a world where galleries whisper, waterfalls hiss, glaciers creak. and Mayan pyramids chirp. Acoustic engineer Trevor Cox provides a fascinating tour of "the sonic wonders of the world," a collection of unusual sounds both natural and synthetic. In the process, Cox explains the acoustic qualities that characterize the places we use and occupy, distinguishing between "live" (concert halls, bathrooms) and "dead" (offices, classrooms) spaces. After reading this fascinating book, you'll never look at -- or listen to -- your surroundings in the same way.

A historical, cultural, and spiritual examination of the phenomena associated with seeing evaluates how the sense of sight is a foremost component of awareness and survival, considers modern advances in microscopy and photography, and surveys the ways in which perception affects everyday life. By the author of On Being Born and Other Difficulties.

The tongue has one job: "to distinguish food from everything else." However, the process though which we determine what's edible is complicated, requiring an understanding of, among other areas, microbiology, genetics, and neuroscience. It also requires cleansing one's mental palate by, for example, discarding that diagram of the tongue depicting four distinct regions dedicated to sweet, salty, sour, and bitter flavors (which has no scientific basis) and accepting that, to a large extent, taste is hereditary. If you've ever wondered why and how we eat what we eat, check out Tasty.

With its rich golden hue, art deco-inspired bottle, and timeless, musky scent, Chanel No. 5 is the world's bestselling perfume. Reverently known among industry insiders as "le monstre" (the monster), it is arguably the most coveted consumer luxury product of the twentieth and twenty-first centuries. Yet how did this pioneering celebrity fragrance, introduced in the early 1920s, eventually take on a life of its own, becoming a cultural monument celebrated by millions of devoted consumers? The Secret of Chanel No. 5 is Tilar J. Mazzeo's far-ranging and fascinating search beyond the stuff of legend to uncover the full story of No. 5's creation, iconic status, and extraordinary success. She travels to the heart of the Chanel empire: 31 Rue Cambon, Coco Chanel's flagship boutique, where six decades ago American GIs stormed the counters to possess the magical elixir that captured the luxury and romance of Paris for their girls back home.(HarperCollins)